[News Figures] The 'Glazer Family' Put Up by Man Utd

Boy Who Sold Watches Becomes Tycoon Through Real Estate and Stocks
'Malcolm Glazer' Family Acquired Man Utd in 2005
Middle East 'Oil Money', Musk Acquisition Stir Speculation

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] As reports emerge that Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, is interested in acquiring the prestigious English Premier League (EPL) club Manchester United (Man Utd), attention is turning to the club owner who has put Man Utd up for sale.

The British Daily Mail cited sources on the 13th (local time) saying, "Musk is currently watching the situation of Man Utd" and "It will be hard for him to resist the opportunity to buy Man Utd for 4.5 billion pounds (about 7 trillion won)." Musk had also stated on Twitter last August that he would acquire Man Utd. However, shortly after, he corrected himself by saying, "This is an old joke on Twitter," which sparked controversy. Nevertheless, it raised expectations that Musk might one day own a big club. According to media reports, the estimated acquisition price for Man Utd ranges from 4.5 billion pounds to a maximum of 6 billion pounds (about 9.29 trillion won).

Man Utd was acquired in 2005 by the Glazer family, famous American sports tycoons. However, in November last year, the club's board announced that they would consider selling, making it one of the hottest assets among football teams.

Man Utd is a football club based in Manchester, England, United Kingdom, founded in 1878. It is the team with the most league titles in the EPL, having lifted the trophy 20 times, and has many fans. It is widely known among domestic fans as the club where Park Ji-sung, now a coach and commentator, played during his active career. Man Utd, which had been operated as a civic club for over 100 years since its establishment, transitioned into a corporate club in 2005 when American jeweler Malcolm Glazer (who passed away in 2014) acquired more than 75% of the shares.

Joel Glazer, Co-Chairman of Manchester United (right). Photo by AP Yonhap News

Glazer was the son of Lithuanian immigrants, born in 1928 in Rochester, New York, during the Great Depression era, as the eldest of seven siblings. It is said that he started working at his father's watch factory from the age of eight. When he was 15, his father suddenly died, leaving only 300 dollars, and to support his family, he began selling watches on the street, embarking on the path of a merchant. With the money he saved, he bought land near Rochester in the late 1940s and started a rental business. Using the additional money secured from real estate, he bought stocks and accumulated wealth by selling them when their prices rose. At the time, there were suspicions that he might have disrupted the market, but Glazer firmly denied any allegations against him.

In 1995, he entered the bidding for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an American football team in Florida, and bought the team for 192 million dollars. He steadily recruited good players and coaches, improving the team's performance, and finally won the Super Bowl in the 2003 season. Afterward, the value of the Buccaneers soared to 800 million dollars, nearly a sevenfold increase. Having realized that sports teams could be profitable, Glazer went on to acquire Man Utd, the pride of British football, in 2005. Fans, angry that someone with no understanding of football had bought the club, created effigies of him and held a burning ceremony on the street where the club office is located.

However, contrary to fans' concerns, Glazer trusted Sir Alex Ferguson, who had led Man Utd since 1986, entrusting him with all club operations. Even after transitioning to a corporate club, Man Utd achieved five EPL titles in ten years and won the FIFA Club World Cup in 2008. However, after Ferguson retired in 2013 and Malcolm passed away in 2014, his eldest son Avram Glazer and fourth son Joel Glazer inherited ownership, and Man Utd has not won a single EPL title since. This has led to growing calls among fans demanding the resignation of the club owners.

Man Utd currently stands 3rd in the EPL for the 2022?2023 season (46 points; 14 wins, 4 draws, 5 losses). According to foreign media such as Bloomberg News, a Qatar consortium is reportedly preparing a bid together with officials from the Qatar Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund.